Monday, January 31, 2011
Windex
Recently I read somewhere (possibly The Miniatures Page (http://theminiaturespage.com/), Wargames Illustrated, Miniature Wargames or The Classic Wargames Journal about using windex to refurbish chunky paints. I can't recall where I read it but it must have been one of those. There was a mention that Windex window cleaner will refurbish a paint without wrecking it. Yesterday, I tried it out on two different paints: an old Armory and a GW paint. It seems to have worked very nicely...I still would proceed carefully as it is still pretty early in the testing.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Week Three of 2011
Snow, snow, more snow and family stuff, etc., kept the gaming and game related stuff way down. I think I must have shoveled about six or eight hours this week. I think this week's accumulation was over two feet. The upper driveway is now closed as there is nowhere to put the snow...and we are supposed to get another foot. Good thing I like to shovel. I did manage to play two great games of Memoir '44 online. I also painted but as I continue on my assembly line production, nothing was finished. Lastly, family stuff intervened and I missed the Friday night game.
Card and Boardgames Played:
I managed to fit in two games of Memoir '44 online. The beauty of the online games are you can start and finish a game in about twenty minutes. The games I played were Russian Front winter (of course) and Desert War in Tunisia.
Terrain:
I chatted with a buddy about snow terrain. That got me thinking that I really need more of this...but when to find the time.
Projects:
French Revolution: I worked with Magister Militum concerning limbers for the various combatant lines. We also discussed options for various holes in the lines (mostly cavalry). Hopefully, this means the missing items are definitely going into production. Mostly the discussion was about limbers, etc., although Gendarmes for the Republic may also see the light of day...
Post-Apoc: I listened to some podcasts on the new release of Gamma World and thought some of the best way to utilize this in my collection and playing. I also spent a few minutes in my bits box thinking about the possibilities of gaming this system.
South American Wars of Liberation: I fiddled around with a basing scheme for the mountain guns. Now I just need the last few guns to arrive from Warmodeling.
Painting and Painters:
My daughter has been learning some interesting tricks on Youtube about painting. Not one to ignore a good thing, I searched for historical miniatures painting. The three best (for me) were the World War Two painting guides for some vehicles:
Panzer IV/70 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl6BOxeFeN0
Soviet Sherman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCCw2xCjKz4
These are worth a watch if you paint vehicles. I actually tried out the pencil trick and it works remarkably well.
PodCasts:
Wizards of the Coast has a podcast on D&D that is interesting to listen to while shoveling. The topics vary from product releases, to philosophies for their various products through actual play sessions.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
LoveCraft Collection
Check out Anatoli's Game Room (http://anatolisgameroom.blogspot.com/2011/01/lovecraft-mythos-collection-so-far.html). He posted a series of pictures of his LoveCraft collection.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Classic Wargamer's Journal
I finished reading Volume I, Issue 2 of the Classic Wargamer's Journal last night. Once again it was a good read. This is a quarterly magazine of low glitz but excellent topic matter done ninth style of the various wargaming newlsetters of the 60's, 70's and early 80's. It contains scenarios (Raid from the Sea, Sigismund Voralson's Viking Raid; Variant on The Battle of Hook's Farm; and, Tales of the Golden Head), variants and a variety of other suggestions, information and AAR's. Always a good read. The Editor also encourages the readers to play the scenarios and write in with your version of the Refight (Blasthof; Spurlash Down; Freeman's Farm; and Battle of Lapins).
One of my favortte articles was Viva Catalonia 1713, Part 1Ray Caddy penned a good article on the WSS in Catalonia which is a little known theater that continued past the end of the war. He does a nice job illuminating the conflict, designating suitable figures and various other resources. If this interests you, check lluis Vilalta's site (www. wargames.cat) for downloadable guides. Additionally, Eureka does 15mm Miquelets (the mountain troops of the Catalonians).
The Gremlins continue to work away...
Pictures disappear. My apologies to you if you miss them for the varied amounts of time they remain.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Busy week for life with a very sick kid and lots of snow to shovel. Not so busy a week when it came to gaming, painting, etc. as I did not get much done. With my son ill, I also scrubbed plans to drive down to a convention in Maryland on Saturday. Good thing I had not committed to the convention as I had a feeling "something" was going to prevent attendance. Next year. In between stemming the brown tide of vomitus and the white mounds of snow, I did spend an hour or so working on a host of figures. The bad news is that I am assembly line painting seventy-eight 28mm, 20 units of 6mm and four terrain pieces different figures. The good news is that work is progressing nicely on all fronts. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (i.e. the day when this desk load of figures is completed and playable. Why so much stuff--I emptied two boxes of "almost done" figures from two previous moves onto my painting table. When this one is done, I either delve into one of the other six moves, or maybe reward myself with some South American war (Independence, Great Paraguayan, 1879 Guano or the Chaco). Or French Revolution, Seminoles or something else...
Last week I mentioned Sixty-One Sixty-Five, a new set of American Civil War rules from Ganesha Games. The system is based upon their Napoleonic Skirmish rules Songs of Drums and Shakoes ("SDS"). In SDS, one activates officers and individuals with command sizes being a few squads. This is more of a grand skirmish like Brother Against Brother than a battle game. Typically, a player will command up to a Company with maybe some cavalry and/or a cannon. Maneuver elements are officers, senior NCO's and squads. An appendix includes modifying SoDaS for the ACW. That got me thinking and shows that the Company Level rules are easily modified for the earlier period. I suspect I will use them for a larger Vendee battle very soon...any volunteers?
John Fletcher wrote indicating he is going to run the Battle of Vilcapugio at Cold Wars. Initially, he was going to use his own rules. Now, he says it is going to be LaSalle. I executed a quick trade and got a copy of these. They are not bad. Definitely not for the simulationist like Legacy of Glory; but much better than Napoleon's Battles. I gave the rules a quick read. They are ok and seem easy enough with a coherent period feel. If I were to play the Napoleonic era, I would give them a try against General De Brigade, Black Powder, Napoleon's Rules, the yet-to-be released Bill Protz's Napoleonics and Minifig's Quick Play. Any of those may be sacrilege to some of you grognards; but if I ever jump into the sinkhole of Napoleonic era, I want a fun, fast and period oriented rules not a brain burner or slog. I would also want to play the various Charles Grant scenarios and the like, not Austerlitz (that's for Volley and Bayonet or the yet to be released Look Boney No Charts. Think about it, the Charge project with Napoleonic countries and not having to adhere to canon when it comes to organizing/painting your forces...more sacrilege.
Mongoose Flight Bases just got reissued. These are great. They have a ball joint that is attached to the figure which snaps onto a flight base. There are two advantages: (1) figures tend to break off much less; and, (2) you can put your figures on cool angles to show banks, dives and climbs. Once agin, it's about the look of it for me...
Lastly, the Blog I set up first had some disappearing photos. I replaced a bunch and wrote off the others. Then all but the last four disappeared. Then, the Blog was gone entirely...not sure what happened or why. Now it's back with some of the photos...
Miniature Games:
No games played. I missed the Friday night Squad Leader as I had a sick child.
Correction from Last week--It was Bayou Vermillion against Mountain Scouts (Hired Guns). BV are a New Orleans themed group. See Black River down below; they are a Black Magic themed group. I also Have Dixie Rails completed (ex-CSA). Union Blue (ex-USA), Iron Dragon (China), Wasatch (Lumber Jacks & Scientists from Chicago/Great Lakes) and various other unaffiliated Hired Guns and contraptions are under way...not to mention the possibility of adding some French from Mexico, British from vcanad or Russians from the Pacific Northwest or something else...
Terrain:
Planning for the Battle of Vilcapugio hill construction began. The question remains whether the slopes are going to be represented in the traditional topographical fashion or the more realistic slope. Opinions welcome.
Projects:
Colonialism/VSF: I have been thinking about getting back to work on my French Foreign Legion again...something to look forward to once the latest project is done. My Buddy Ed from Two Hour wargames decided to sell an Adventures in the Lost Island set of figures with the rule book. John Henry got a look and asked me to get them. Perhaps this will be the ticket to get him back into miniature gaming. Anyone got a good movie suggestion? And, the box had FFL in it. I will have to set up a game once I read the rules.
South American Wars of Liberation: I worked with the Flag Dude and John Fletcher to iron out the flag situation for the units at the Battle of Vilcapugio. In addition, Evil Bob worked with us to develop a great basing coloration that resembles the South American pampas of the region of many of the battles--he did a fantastic job. This style of base will become the norm for my Sount American collection as it will allow the figures to do duty in the various theaters from Argentina to Mexico without looking out of place on the terrain. The big challenge will be to get my work to match Evil Bob's. Now, I just need some more 15mm town and village pieces.
Painting and Painters:
Stan delivered reinforcements for the Black River forces of Deadlands. The first row from left to right is , a leader, two witches from a five figure Witch unit, and a followed up by a who shoots dynamite arrows on the right. The second row has a bloodworm, a wolf and Leader and two other witches from the unit. The bottom row has two , a werewolf and a Hanging Judge. Truly a rough bunch. Deadlands figures are stylized and large but depict the fiction well. There is some variation in the sculpts, but go together fairly well. Unit packs are five figures of three castings: a one leader and two of each follower poses. Character packs are sold by the one. The main criticism is trying to get the figures. I have managed to collect almost the entire line over the years. I would like to get my hands on Steam Tank #13 and some more of the clockwork tarantulas. Otherwise, a few more of certain odds and ends would be good but not needed. The main criticism of the rules: 1) you needed to collect very large armies of a line with very little variation in poses of troops, 2) the castings are larger than the other lines; and, 3) no mounted figures. As a game, I think it will play better as a true skirmish and making the characters and vehicles survive longer. Great work by Stan!
Last week I mentioned some of Igor's work. here are two photos from my phone:
17th Century Militia by Igor
Battle Fleet Gothic ships & Epic Eldar by Igor.
Magazines:
The January Wargames Illustrated had a series of good articles. I found the Flames of War re-fight of Sword and Omaha beaches with the rear area paratroop operations to be an interesting "bathtub" version. The was another FOW article and scenario on a Fallschirmjager prisoner snatch from French Resistance. Next up was a Warhammer Ancients solo scenario of the XIIth Legion massacre by the Germans. More in tune with my interests was the article on the invasion of Havana in 1761; but unfortunately there was no scenario, just suggestions for gaming which is unfortunate as I have most of the units done in my F&I collection. There was a nice two page spread on 17th Century Polish Winged Hussars (Where did I store those Essex figures?). Warhammer Ancients made another appearance with a scenario of the Second Battle of Kosovo 1448. Crafty folks would be happy to know there were two good articles: making your own wagons and converting Late Roman Cavalry. There were two convention spreads and an article on running a convention game. The lat article (not in place) was an Army Painter Info-mmercial on painting 300 figures in ten days which is complete bollocks (I don't buy; it especially as he did not just paint and base but he worked, lived and claims to have also gone on a long weekend to Paris with his partner. Nope. No way.).
Next week, a review of the recent issue of the Classic Wargamer's Journal.
BLOGS:
Check out this BLOG (http://miksminis.blogspot.com/2011/01/winter-4821.html) The writer just started a solo 5150 campaign. You may recall 5150 is Two Hour Wargames' science fiction rules. The system allows you to formulate events going on in the sector of the galaxy where you choose to game. This in turn generates the missions you may want to play. 5150 is also extremely versatie in adding races from any fiction or manufacturer. I plan to follow this thread.
If you think like me, then Flying Lead or Fear & Faith might work as a suitable replacement for 40k. Check out (feed://steelcitywargaming.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default). Now I just need some 5150 stats and tme for two comparative plays.
PodCasts:
The Military History Pod Cast started a multi-part series on Von Lettow-Vorbeck and the WW1 East Africa Campaign.
For Trade/Sale:
It is my plan to weed out extra figures, games and rules that I have amassed. I will post them here before I offer them up to the general TMP public. If you would like them, let me know.
1) War Rocket Rule Book ( a cool set of swooping fighter combat from the pulps that I probably will not play).
2) Alien Squad leader 2.0 ( a pretty good set of rules for futuristic combat, I like the concepts and the force ratios but, realistically I will probably stick with Flying Lead, 5150, Rogue Trader and Princess Ryan's.
3) I expect to have an extra copy of the Wargamer's Annual 2011 as one appeared unexpectedly as a late Christmas present from my Mother-In-Law right after I ordered it...
There will be more appearing on this list. I have promised myself I need to read the rules before I decide; but I have a bunch here. Feel free to ask if I have something on the list before you go and buy.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Where did they go? And what happened?
Not sure what happened but all my photos disappeared...sorry. I had saved copies of some, so they were replaced. Others were deleted after posting. Maybe the next posting of photos will stick...Oh, and the images keep expanding to bleed over.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Week 2 of 2011
Ragers consuming Shamblers...I read about this in the Two Hour Wargame trilogy of Zombie rules and it made sense. Before the Zombie-apocalpyse, you had the Voodoo Zombie.
Then, the viral zombie and the Zombie-pocalpyse created the Shamblers. Then came bloaters. And finally Sprinters or more commonly Ragers.
Thankfully, the Twilight syndrome has not struck Zombies yet or we would have smilers?!? Or perhaps Lovers?!?
Nasty...but I am sure it's coming.
Anyway, in THW's rationale the ragers are an outgrowth of the Government attempt to cure the Zombie infection. One thing that always struck me was why don't Ragers attack other Zeds. Well, they do in THW world. It makes perfect sense to me. The THW Zombie world makes sense as long as you are willing to suspend the disbelief and allow for the zombie of the virus.
ATZ, I Zombie and Haven (http://www.angelfire.com/az3/twohourwargames/ATZbundles.htm) are the best Zombie-pocalypse rules and campaign system out there. Even if you are not a fan of the rules system, the campaign generation materials alone are worth serious consideration. You may recall that I enjoy the Flying Frog game Last Night on Earth. That is a fantastic game for playing a one-off zombie game. Each of the characters is archetype from the movies. Each scenario is from a movie. The cards are events and tropes from the stories. But a campaign it is not.
ATZ is much much more. If you want to play out the apocalypse from Day One as yourself? It's in there. Want to play from the perspective of another person, criminal or law enforcement/military? It's in there. Want to play from Day One, Day 28 or Day 100+? Want to play with your buddies? Or solo? Want to play realistic or cinematic? It's ALL in there. I would buy this for my library of rules. I would buy it to play. Even if you are in the mode of trimming down and not buying to collect, I think this one is a good one.
As for the future for THW from Ed Texeira:
"...Stalingrad is coming out this weekend, then a Soccer game, Musket and Mohawks (Black Powder skirmish) FNG 2nd Tour [Vietnam], Korea supplement for Nuts [Yay!] then a [C]hariot [R]acing game. They should all be done...by May. After that there's After the Horsemen [Horror] and 5150 Book Two [SciFi]..."
The demise of Wargames Factory and my information...I had been corresponding with Howard Whitehouse, a friend and a direct figure in Wargames Factory and was going to put a warning out to any of you considering purchases to be careful. It seems the situation bubbled up to the fore on TMP, so I deleted my section and give you the link: http://theminiaturespage.com/news/787442/. My opinion: If you are going to buy, buy it only if you can put your hands on it. If you need to order it, do so at your own risk. If you know Tony and Howard, then don't buy as they are not getting the proceeds. Buy American. Buy British. Buy European, Canadian, Aussie, etc. Don't buy PRC...but that gets into politics...
Another "Be careful" warning...wow, I am sounding negative. It has come to my attention that the old FOW Early War are great. Then there was a reissue that was junky. And now FOW did the right thing and pulled the junk and reworked it. If you are not buying direct from FOW or a FLGS, watch out when ordering Early War Brits as there are some of the junky ones around. I did a little research on the web and found this blog which covers it better than I could. (http://ritterkrieg.blogspot.com/2010/10/give-me-ol-sculps-anyday.html)
Ganesha Games just came out with a Company level ACW game that sound's great. For those of you who play Brother Against Brother level ACW, I would seriously consider these sight unseen. The suite of Ganesha Games are great! Each of their rules is packed with period flavor and imminent playability. They are great games for conventions, first-timers and jaded veterans. I have a few of their publications and find them to be some of the better rules out there. It is an easy game to learn but has much nuance and supports proper tactics. Of late, I have played their rules for French Revolution (Song of Drums and Shakoes), Post Apocalypse (Armageddon Hour), SciFant Apocalyptic--think Thundarr the Barbarian (Mutants and Death Ray Guns) and Cowboys (Flying Lead). I have plans to play some Arthurian Legends (Song of Arthur and Merlin), Deadlands (Fear and Faith), 40K (Fear and Faith), Conan the Barbarian (Song of Blades and Heroes) and Hard SciFi (Flying Lead). Forums cover all sorts of variants of these rules allowing for allowing all gaming periods to be represented. And if you want to play Scooby Do, Lost Boys, Buffy or even Twlight for that matter, look no further than the latest expansion to Fear & Faith: Kookie Teenage Monster Hunters...and yes you even can play out that weird episode from Buffy where they all sang and danced.
Card and Boardgames Played:
One game of Memoir '44 online.
Miniature Games:
Igor trained out from NYC and we played a Deadlands game. The rules we used were Fear and Faith; but, really they were Flying Lead as we played a straight cowboy game of Mountain Scouts against Black River. The fight was over a Medicine Wagon stranded at the local Pony Express Station somewhere in the Southwest. We intend to later add the supernatural into the game to allow for a true Deadlands type game.
Terrain:
Barry Scarlett sent me photos of a 15mm Boot Hill that is being sent to me. Fantastic!
Projects:
American Civil War.
Carlist Wars:
Colonialism/VSF:
Deadlands:
Doctor Who:
Fantasy/Dungeon Crawls:
French & Indian War:
French Revolution:
Lace Wars:
Modern:
Pulp:
Pony Wars:
Post-Apoc:
South American Wars of Liberation: Gathering additional flag information for the Flag Dude and the Cold Wars scenario. Started in on the hill sections.
Seminole War:
Science Fiction/40K/Rogue Trader (not the RPG):
Spanish Civil War:
Trojan War:
Vietnam:
War in Pacific (1879):
Wildland Firefighting:
World War One:
World War Two:
Painting and Painters:
Igor dropped off some 28mm civilians, Epic 40K Eldar and Ork vehicles and the last of my Eldar BFG fleet. The photos from my phone did not do them justice. Great Work!
I had taken advantage of John Leahy's Christmas offer of the 15mm Blue Moon SciFi units. The figures arrived and are nice. He charges $1.60 per figure and that includes the figures and basing. The work is crisp, clean and nice. The basing is good but a bit rushed. All in all it's good value but not as good as Stan's. Evil Bob's, Igor's, Dave's or BattleDress work. But better than the Sri Lankan and Thai work I have had in the past. All in all, it felt good to mark off a few more units from Princess Ryan's Space Marines completed enough to play with. They did not move up to the wargaming room as there is a bit of work I would like to do on some of them to make them really pop--a bit of ink here and there or a touch of detail. If you want to field it fast and cheaply, it's recommended. I will probably use his service once in awhile.
I have some Space Bugs and Rednecks almost ready to go. They need a touch of ink and base work. Right now, they are completely playable at a nice wargames standard, but they need a little extra something.
Magazines:
I did not finish the Wargames Illustrated as I got drawn into The Road by Cormac McCarthy and the Simon Scarrow series on the Romans...next week, I will finish the review of the January issue.
BLOGS:
http://ritterkrieg.blogspot.com/2010/10/give-me-ol-sculps-anyday.html for a discussion of the FOW Early War.
PodCasts:
The D6 Generation has a review of Dystopian Wars from a few weeks ago. This week's was all about the 40K roleplaying game Death Wing. Both are worth listening to for information on these games.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Week One of 2011
Happy New Year!
I found a reference to some history song parodies on TMP. Curious and looking for something entertaining, I searched the youtube and found a bunch. I have attached a few links to the ones I listened to:
The French Revolution (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=historyteachers#p/u/4/wXsZbkt0yqo)
Napoleon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOki3qAZe4g)
The Spanish Inquisition (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=historyteachers#p/a/u/1/89Xv4mV1BIs)
The Divine Comedy (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=historyteachers#p/u/11/DyRaCwgRKXk)
Renaissance Man (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=historyteachers#p/u/13/0CRX_mqpzdU)
and many, many more... Listen at your own peril...it may warp the songs for you, forever. Isabel has been into these and listens to various ones each night.
The first week in 2011 saw four games of miniatures. All of them either boardgames based on miniatures or miniatures based on a board games. All of them were excellent. All of the were fast playing and fun.
The first two games were Last Night on Earth (http://www.flyingfrog.net/lastnightonearth/). This is a miniature game masquerading as a board game. If you enjoy the Zombie Apocalypse concept at all, this game is a Must-Have. The game is designed for up to four players split between survivors and zombies. Although best played as a three player game, the two- and four-player versions are excellent. Survivor players have all sorts of strengths and weaknesses. There are event and object cards galore. The Zombie player(s) also have a host of nasty event cards they can play on the survivors. All in all a great game.
The third game was a battle game based on George R. R. Martin's Fire and Ice Fantasy series and it utilizes the same system as Battle Lore and Memoir '44. The books are supposed to be quite good although I have not. I had bought the game as it is is the "new" Battle Lore and I wanted to play it. Essentially, the armies are High Medieval. As for the game play, it was quite good. I plan to use it with my medieval forces after I play through the scenarios and thoroughly learn the system.
The fourth game was the classic Avalon Hill game of SquadLeader on a table with 15mm figures. It was a fantastic game before they ruined it with Advanced Squad Leader and some cagey marketing tricks. As for the game we played, it was quite good. I was surprised how much came back. Read more on this later.
Card and Boardgames Played:
None.
Miniature Games:
On the First we played a game of Last Night on Earth. The Heroes easily attained the goal of killing 15 zombies; but, as the night wore on, they found it somewhat harrowing as they fought to survive. Father Joseph went off to Garage and Junkyard, both over confident and sure there was "something" important was there. As the battle of the Garage ground on, he was killed. Billy the Track Star showed up and the the heroes retreated to the Diner. The Diner defense became difficult when the power went out. In the end, though, the heroes survived to fight another day. This game really is a miniature game boxed with figures, maps and cards. The box and its expansions are sold by Flying Frog Enterprises (http://www.flyingfrog.net/lastnightonearth/). The game is quite good. I think I may have figured out how to easily convert it to the tabletop.
On the Second we played another game of Last Night on Earth. The scenario was called "Burn Them Out" which has the Survivors going on assault in an effort to neutralize the spawning points. Spencer had a tough game of it as I managed to close out some buildings with blackouts and take-overs ( a card which simulates a building literally crawling with undead). We played advanced rules which allowed for new heroes to come on board as others died. The catch is that heroes can be turned into a nastier form of zombie if you have the right timing or the right card. The zombies managed to eat most of the heroes; but in the end, the last four gathered up enough gas and dynamite and blasted or burned the spawn points into smithereens. It was a nail-biter for both sides right until the end.
On the Fourth, my buddy Ray decided to come out and visit for the afternoon on a last minute whim. We hoped to play some games. I quickly shelved my day's projects and we hung out and caught up. Unfortunately, Life intervened on the down-side. Ray and I were able to hang out as we shuffled here and there. In the process of the day, I noticed noticed Ray looking at the Battles of Westeros (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/67492/battles-of-westeros) that I had set up. I was in the process of learning the rules. Later in the evening, Ray and I were able to sit down to play the starter scenario and had a good time. The game is quite good. I think I may have figured out how to easily convert it to the tabletop. This scenarios has an infantry force holding a river crossing against a large force of cavalry and infantry. The defender does have a relief force on its way, so the attacker must proceed with haste and aggressiveness. Our battle was hard fought and ended a draw on turn five (per the scenario). I am not sure how it would have ended if the scenario did not end at five; but, the game was enjoyed by both parties. I hope that Fantasy Flight (who bought the Fantasy version, Battle Lore, will re-print as I would like to try the system with a variety of fantasy races.
On the Seventh, Mike's crew met again on Friday. I trekked through the Ice. How could I not, Jimmie was traveling all the way from Queens for the game and I was half the distance. When I got there we sat down and played a circa 1942 Eastern Front meeting engagement of Squad Leader (not Advanced Squad leader) with 15mm figures and four inch terrain hexagons. I got command of a five T-26's, five BT-7's and some Tanko Desanti (Infantry Tank Riders). A good game was had as the massive forces of Russians and Germans clashed. I even enjoyed my spirited duel with an 88 and my BT-7's; but after two brew-ups (not tea) I quickly ducked and covered I had come close to a golden BB on the 88; but reality intervened.
Squad Leader was a miniature game before it was a board game. I played both about twenty years ago. I was a big SL fan. This is a great game. If you follow the system's programmed scenarios, it is EASY to learn. Avalon Hill was growing the series gradually. They had a winner. We all waited eagerly for the Japanese, The Italians, The Desert, etc. until the marketing types decided to create ASL instead of another successful expansion. ASL "nerfed" your entire collection of counters, etc. If you wanted to continue to play or even add the Japanese or the Italians or the Mediterranean front, you needed to re-buy all the maps and counters. As a poor student, the last thing I was going to do was re-buy the game. It had already taken over a massive portion of my otherwise small gaming budget. My group kept playing the series until the group moved back to miniatures. We payed a few 6mm games of this on the maps but the game had been soured by the tricky move.
Over the years, I sold off my most of my boardgames. I kept SL, though as I always enjoyed it. It was filled with tactics and detail but was very playable. It was also easy to learn in the programmed manner. I had even found it easy to teach as long as the new guy was brought along gradually. All in all, it was great to play it again. The level of the game is my favorite for WW2. The level of detail is enough to have the flavor. It seems Mike's group has resurrected SL for the tabletop. I was also amazed how much of the rules I still remembered. I think I am going to follow suit...the only question is do I use the 15's or the 6's?
Terrain:
I took advantage of the Litko sale to pickup some markers to change the game clutter of counters to their flashy markers. I bought assorted Flaming Wreckage, Missiles, Ganesha game system markers and Power Fields. And...Litko says I get a coupon for my next sale. So when (not if with Litko) I decide to buy more, I will get a discount.
Projects:
American Civil War:
Carlist Wars:
Colonialism/VSF:
Deadlands:
Doctor Who: I finished watching the 1st and 2nd Doctor's with Netflix. I just started the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and Silurians. One of these days I need to paint something here.
Fantasy/Dungeon Crawls:
French & Indian War:
French Revolution: The French revolutionary forces are under way. I am organizing in preparation to painting.. I am also working out the Prussians, Austrian, Russian, British and Spanish for the future.
Lace Wars:
Modern:
Pulp:
Pony Wars:
Post-Apoc:
South American Wars of Liberation: All but some limbered mountain guns are at the painter; these need to be ordered from Spain. I also need to finalize the Flag Dude's task. astly, I need to set up the table so I can make sure I have all that I need ready for March.
Seminole War:
Science Fiction/40K/Rogue Trader (not the RPG):
Spanish Civil War:
Trojan War:
Vietnam:
War in Pacific (1879):
Wildland Firefighting:
World War One:
World War Two:
Painting and Painters:
Sean dropped off some of my Sisters of Battle. He did a great job painting them. I will have to set up a game with these. As per the Ganesha forum, I am going to try Fear and Faith with the 40K figures. As the rules are Gothic Horror, the argument stands that the game system to play Gothic SciFi is F&F. The new figures will have to see action against some of the demonic forces from my Doom Board Game. Perhaps some Sisters need to penetrate a corrupted space station?
BunkerMonkey says he has found my long lost Mexican civilians and they will be coming my way soon. I will keep you posted. Perhaps they will have to populate a hacienda for a traditional Wild West battle or even a Deadlands battle South of the Rio.
As for my paintbrush...it's been in stasis. Too many people around to clog up the kitchen table. Perhaps with my wife and daughter slated to be away, I will leave it out and get some work done.
Magazines:
I started the latest issue of Wargames Illustrated. It had a good overview of Operation Overlord. But, that's about as far as I got...more later.
Miniature Wargames is late. Again.
BLOGS:
Here are two that I found interesting over the last few days:
(http://wargamingbuildings.blogspot.com/) was good for the great buildings. In particular I liked the hotel (http://wargamingbuildingscr.blogspot.com/); and,
(http://tacticalminiaturesgaming.blogspot.com/2011/01/atz-ltl-mom-christmas-special-2010.html) had an entertaining All Things Zombie Christmas game. It was worth a read.
PodCasts:
Nothing here unless you want to learn about Furry Larpers. Fear the Boot had one on and they guy tried to make himself out as normal...sorry, but I fail to see it. I also am surprised they did not bust on the guy. But then agin, they are in it as a business.
Mark
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